Joint checkpoint envisioned to connect HK to mainland

China's top legislature began deliberations on Friday on a joint checkpoint arrangement for the express rail link connecting the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

The co-location plan addresses new issues that have come up in the implementation of the "one country, two systems" policy, and endorsement by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress would give the plan binding force, Zhang Xiaoming, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, said during an explanation to the legislators on Friday.

The resolution is scheduled for a vote on Wednesday. It is the second step in a three-step process for the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL), a much-anticipated piece of infrastructure that will merge the Hong Kong SAR into the Chinese mainland's high-speed rail networks.